Friday’s Headlines
Why are infrastructure projects so much more expensive in the U.S. than abroad? (New York Mag) Although some urban neighborhoods successfully revolted against freeways, most were built according to plan, hurting property values, dividing cities along racial lines and accelerating white flight. (City Lab) Uber is testing a monthly subscription service that combines car rides, … Continued
By
Blake Aued
12:13 AM EDT on July 26, 2019
- Why are infrastructure projects so much more expensive in the U.S. than abroad? (New York Mag)
- Although some urban neighborhoods successfully revolted against freeways, most were built according to plan, hurting property values, dividing cities along racial lines and accelerating white flight. (City Lab)
- Uber is testing a monthly subscription service that combines car rides, food delivery and bike and e-scooter rentals. (Tech Crunch)
- After expenses, Uber and Lyft drivers only make about $9 or $10 an hour — less than 90 percent of American workers. (CNN)
- When bike-share companies pull obsolete dockless bikes off the street, sometimes they give them charity, and a few even go to museums, but more often they wind up in the scrapyard. (Slate)
- Americans’ insistence on driving to work alone is causing traffic congestion and hurting the environment and our health, says a Harvard researcher, focusing on Atlanta’s strategies for car-free living. (Data-Smart City Solutions)
- San Francisco drivers killed two pedestrians this week in two separate collisions within blocks of each other, renewing calls for safer street designs. Already drivers have killed 19 people in San Francisco this year, compared to 23 in all of 2018. (Curbed)
- Los Angeles’ crumbling sidewalks are a problem, especially for the disabled. The city has between 1,500 and 2,000 pending repair requests. (KCRW)
- A California Senate bill would require bike lanes to be built or improved whenever state-owned roads are repaved. (ABC 10)
- An initiative seeking to cancel Phoenix light rail projects will stay on the August ballot after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled against an argument to keep it off. (ABC 15)
- A new feasibility study makes the case for high-speed rail connecting Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. (International Railway Journal)
- Milwaukee is not living up to its streetcar-related promises for bike lanes. (Urban Milwaukee)
- Rapper Desiigner might be single-handedly keeping Uber in business, claiming he spends $20,000 a month on rides. (XXL)
- Do not try this at home. (Fox 4 Dallas)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
Read More:
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog USA
‘Our Roads Are More Than Just Highways’: Democrats Urge U.S. Senate to Fund Transit Programs
A Trump administration proposal recommends massive cuts to popular programs – and it will cost American communities more than they can afford, Senate Democrats say.
May 14, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Pump It Up
Until you can feel it (gas prices, that is). But you don't really need it (suspending gas taxes).
May 14, 2026
Study: Trump’s Transit Proposal Would Cost the Country So Many Jobs — And Not Just in Cities
... but an increase in funding would be a job-creating juggernaut.
May 13, 2026
Wednesday’s Headlines Are Bought and Paid For
The Union of Concerned Scientists explains how the highway lobby keeps so many of us in our cars.
May 13, 2026
Opinion: It’s Time to Rethink Our Congestion Obsession
Policymakers constantly suggest that we need to spend billions of dollars and bulldoze countless acres of land to fix traffic jams. But do we?
May 13, 2026
